The Microsoft Edge extension store is finally getting some traction
Microsoft released the new Chromium-based web browser on January 15, 2020 officially. With the new browser came a new add-ons store for it that Microsoft launched as a beta. While still in beta, it appears that the new store is much more successful than the old as the extension count crossed the 1000 mark recently while the old store never managed to come even close to that number.
Microsoft launched the new Microsoft Edge Addons store with about 100 extensions. Now, with the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser available for about 2 months as a stable version, that number increased to well over 1000 extensions.
Note: Microsoft lists wallpaper add-ons for the new tab page of the browser among extensions. These make up a sizable number.
The increase in extensions should not come as a surprise considering that the new Edge browser is based on Chromium which means that porting extensions is a simple process. Edge had only a few unique extensions when Microsoft launched the Store and the situation has not changed much.
Microsoft maintains a handful of exclusive extensions and there is a handful (or two) non-Microsoft extensions as well that are exclusive at the time of writing. The vast majority of extensions however are cross-browser extensions such as uBlock Origin, Reddit Enhancement Suite, Adblock Plus, Evernote Web Clipper, Dashlane Password Manager, or Norton Safe Web.
Microsoft integrated functionality to install Chrome extensions into Edge. Google added a notification to the company's Chrome Web Store that informs Edge users that it is more secure to use Chrome with the hosted extensions. Google's store hosts a multitude more add-ons than Microsoft's store.
If you compare both stores, you may notice a few differences. The Microsoft Edge Addons store lacks user reviews and comments, ratings, or the list of related extensions. Compared to Mozilla's Firefox add-ons Store, both stores are lacking. Firefox users get the list of permissions, developer information, release notes, and other information on top of everything that the Chrome Web Store has to offer.
Closing Words
It is clear that the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser is doing better than the classic version. The rise of add-ons for the browser is just one indicator of that. Microsoft plans to push it via Windows Update in the coming months to recent versions of Windows 10 which should give it another boot when it comes to the number of users.
Now You: What is your take on the new Edge browser (Via Techdows)
What is your take on the new Edge browser?
I think more and more Windows 10 users are going to use new Edge browser, as it works great.
A rather disturbing report has just appeared on the Betanews site concerning Microsoft subdomains which allegedly can be hijacked relatively easily. Story and demonstration video here: https://betanews.com/2020/03/05/insecure-microsoft-subdomains-hijacked/
gorhill had no interest in porting uBlock Origin to EdgeHTML Edge, because porting stuff to EdgeHTML Edge was not as trivial as Microsoft tried to portray it AND because EdgeHTML Edge had no marketshare to speak of.
Why would gorhill invest time & energy to port uBlock Origin to Blink Edge, when Manifest v. 3 is coming this year?
gorhill has stated that Manifest v. 3 will CRIPPLE uBlock Origin, so he’s not wasting his time developing uBlock Origin for Blink based browsers (Chromium is based on the Blink engine) once Manifest v. 3 is enforced.
So uBlock Origin will only be developed on Firefox, after Manifest v. 3 is enforced later this year.
@notanon
1) Manifest v3 will not cripple anything. Disabling Manifest v2 will. There is no timeline for when v2 will be disabled.
2) The only Chromium based browsers that will be affected are the ones that choose to be affected. Brave has already said they will not be removing support for webRequest and Microsoft hasn’t really said either way besides they are looking into it.
The only browser that has confirmed they will be implementing the change is Google Chrome.
@notanonFUD
Who cares? Some Chromium-based browsers, like Brave and Vivaldi, have built-in adblockers that do not rely on the webRequest API that will be crippled as part of Manifest V3. Plus, there is Pi-Hole. No reason to switch to Firefox.
So I just tried out the new Edge, and I know you can go to google’s web store and supposedly install extensions there, but when I clicked on addons in the settings and it asked me to sign into my Microsoft account, I closed the VM and nuked it back to the last snapshot. No thanks.
@Trey
In Edge, under “settings” when I click on “extensions” and then “Get extensions from Microsoft Store”, and then install an extension, no where in that process does it ask me to “sign into my Microsoft account”.
Note that I don’t have a Microsoft account and have no issues installing and using extensions from the MS store (microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons).
My guess is you have a Microsoft account tied to your OS and you don’t understand what that all means, right?
@Trey
The only trustworthy Chromium-based browsers are Brave and Ungoogled Chromium. Ungoogled Chromium is not trivial to use, though, as it doesn’t update itself automatically, and since you can’t add extensions without a trick.
For less experienced users, Brave is the best Chromium-based browser, IMHO.
Google Chrome, Opera, MS Edge, and Vivaldi are all bad in terms of privacy.
I love how people jump “scam copy”, like if it was hard to type on google or bing or whatever and find out the story.
The reason is because that extension was meant for old Edge browser. Raymond Hill guy decided it was too complicated to install a virtual machine with edge to properly port uBlock to old edge and add it to Windows Store.
So some lefty guy pro Hillary Clinton asked Raymond Hill if he could do the port and apparently Raymond Hill said yes. So obviously a random guy will not keep updating it, even if now it is easier since it’s pretty much the same extension, since both are chromium browsers.
For the information I have read, you actually got an email from Microsoft telling if you want they could add the extension to new extension page so people who upgraded from old to new edge will have their extensions ported. So the guy had to be aware of this but never updated it again.
But is that really a problem? for all that dumb story and how things were managed for uBlock, I found Nano Adblocker and the guy supported old edge until recently, and now he gives Defender for new edge and all. so I would say Nano Adblocker is a better deal anyway.
And anyone can install ublock from chrome extension page, so not a problem there as well. I just wish they would finally stop being… like that… and just give ublock updated to new Edge and stop the excuses.
You know when you leave the dentist or doctor’s office and you’re disoriented and can’t find the door out? That’s how your post just made me feel.
If the new Edge browser is not trustworthy, then Chrome definately is not! Since it includes a lot of services to monitor what you do, send that data to Google and third parties, and target you with ads. How about the phthalate browsers built on chromium?
Edge is doing the same. It includes a lot of services to monitor what you do, send that data to Microsoft and third parties, and target you with ads (Bing Ads clients). It is sad that Edge is not affecting Chrome’s marketshare which is still growing, it affects Firefox’s marketshare. Die Edge, die!!!!
@Anonymous
I don’t think it matters much who spies on you, ultimately:
https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/blt6ft/mobile_firefox_app_shares_your_data_with/
Keep in mind that Google is the one funding Mozilla. What we really need are independent (“independent” as in “financially independent”, no conflict of interests involved) alternatives.
@Rm
The only trustworthy Chromium-based browsers are Brave and Ungoogled Chromium. Ungoogled Chromium I would only recommend to people who know what they are doing, though (no automatic updater, no easy way to add extensions).
I don’t trust Chrome but Edge is even worse when it comes to privacy, hardly surprising really considering Windows 10 and Office.
I installed ublockorigin from the chrome web store.
why the one is the https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/odfafepnkmbhccpbejgmiehpchacaeak v1.23.0 is a scam copy?
In chrome is 1.24.4
Beware. If you search for uBlock Origin in the new Edge extension store
https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/search/ublock%20origin
You end up with what appears to be a scam copy
https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/odfafepnkmbhccpbejgmiehpchacaeak
It’s not a scam copy. Since the extensions are essentially the same, the one on the Microsoft store was just pulling from the Chrome store every time it updated. That stopped working and Microsoft has said they are looking into solutions. Raymond doesn’t have Windows and no way to publish on the Microsoft store and doesn’t want to rely on someone else to publish it. Until something changes with the Microsoft store, the recommended way to install it is to use the Chrome store version.
Again, I think it’s even more than a must if the browser Edge will have a sustainable future.
But what I am not reading is or the extensions are controlled, proofed and monitored?
So I am thinking not. So there is no reason at all to change from Firefox, pale moon browser, Brave, tor browser, Vivaldi, and even Chrome.
It’s not primarily the quantity that counts – quality and usefulness are far more important – the fact that the numbers are being ‘stuffed’ with wallpapers is a real guide to the level of uptake and the fact that the store lacks user reviews and comments, ratings, or a list of related extensions is a really good guide to the quality / usefulness.
I don’t care after the report last week that confirmed my suspicions that Edge is one of the least trustworthy browser out there.
“Edge is one of the least trustworthy browser out there.”
Was there ever any doubt? LOL
Which report?
https://www.scss.tcd.ie/Doug.Leith/pubs/browser_privacy.pdf
11 mb pdf – Doug Leith is professor at Trinity College, Dublin ie
Long story short: yandex and edgeium both stand out amongst browsers as sending persistent identifiers to back end servers. Edgeium uses hardware uuid and yandex uses hashed hardware identifier.
https://www.ghacks.net/2020/02/25/study-finds-brave-to-be-the-most-private-browser/
Have a good read of the pdf not just the headline.
Q: Why?
People (almost all) don’t just code stuff for free, they are doing it to make a profit. Don’t ever forget that.
Open source developers and contributors publish their code for nothing in return
Profit doesn’t always involve money. I doubt any devs are entirely altruistic as some people assume.
Unless a dev is completely crazy, I think there’s always something in it for them, such as with students, hobbyists, and cult related devotees seeking fame or whatever.